Smoking in Hawaii Hawaii has the fifth-lowest rate of cigarette smoking by adults among the states — and that rate is falling. 2000: 19.7% 2008: 15.4% Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Smoking cuts workplace productivity in Hawaii by…
I don’t know if I’d have the guts to do it, but I’m glad some people are brave enough to hire ex-cons. In this issue, writer Janel Lubanski reports about three local companiesthat regularly hire former criminals and about the employees…
In his three years as CEO of Aloha Petroleum, Richard Parry has helped the company diversify its business. Last year, it purchased the Hawaii assets of Shell Oil. It also has gradually expanded its interests in alternative fuels. We talked to…
Kahala Caterers had difficulty recruiting dishwashers and general laborers for its chef staff a few years ago. “People were coming in but weren’t motivated,” company president Winston Gample says. “They all just want to be executive chefs or the next TV…
Problem Hawaii spends $5 billion a year on imported oil, but biofuels that can replace oil usually require a lot of agricultural land. Solution Using its library of algae strains, Kuehnle AgroSystems says it can select, analyze and optimize algae for specific…
After his morning surf session at the Cove, Johnson Young heads across the street to Kihei’s Surfside Spirits & Deli, where he and his wife, Vicky, have been serving up great local food and Island hospitality for more than 20 years. As usual, the place is hopping: surfers…
Greenwood, who has been leading theUniversity of Hawaii for two years, talks about the university system’s broad, new goals. HB: What’s your philosophy on leadership? A: It’s very important to understand and appreciate the organization you’re working in, both the cultural context…
If only it could be bottled – that special touch that makes a Realtor great, not just for a quarter, but year after year. In the second year of publishing the Top 100 Realtors, Hawaii Business began highlighting the leading…
Hawaii’s rapidly changing news media are facing two challenges at the same time: 1. How to gather and deliver news when, where and how people want it; and 2. How to pay for all that. The old ways of delivering…
Local television news was once a great way to make money, but now its future is as clear as 3-D movies without the glasses. Revenues from advertising sales are up, but nowhere near what they were in the glory days…
Tourists have hundreds of ways to spend their money; here's how more than a dozen small companies draw them in. Well-tended tourists in skin-baring dresses and tropical shirts sip after-dinner drinks on the terrace at Duke's restaurant, while a Hawaiian…
Bannister was, most recently, president of the Study Abroad Foundation in Indiana and president at Butler University from 1989 to 2000. He takes over at HPU on July 1, but already his plans are taking shape. HB: If you could…
Comedian Gilbert Gottfried is the latest celebrity to be fired over social media, because of callous tweets about the devastating tsunami in Japan. In February, Rep. Chris Lee, R-N.Y., resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives after stories emerged that…
Choosing a bank used to be fairly simple: People typically selected the bank that was closest to home or work. That was before the Internet. Now there's banking everywhere through smartphones, with First Hawaiian Bank rolling out its app this…
Local businesses have responded quickly and generously to help the victims of Japan's tsunami disaster. In fact, every one of the dozens of companies contacted by Hawaii Business says it has either launched its own fundraising effort or contributed to…
Yu-Hsuan “Anthia” Chen, 25. Born: Taiwan. MBA: HPU, marketing. Plans after graduation: Start my career in Hawaii. Maria Goto, 26. Born: Honolulu. MBA: UH, general. Plans after graduation: Work for N&K CPAs. Kandice Johns, 29. Born: Wailuku, Maui. MBA: UH,…
Leaders of Hawaii small businesses can now enroll in training similar to an executive MBA program – and get the $10,000 program for free. The six-month E200 Leadership Initiative is aimed mostly at minority-oned companies that have at least one…
It seems like a contradiction: The traditional hotel business in Hawaii is shrinking even while the hospitality industry recovers from the recession, more visitors arrive and they pay more per room than last year. The relative decline of stand-alone hotels…
Modern etiquette test: Using your smartphone in a business meeting shows that you’re: a. Connected 24/7 and responding instantly to clients; b. Rude, distracted and about to get fired; c. Under 30 or working for a tech company; d. Assuming…
Some of Hawaiʻi's Best Places to Work are adding special benefits to help turn new hires into lifers and keep them excited about their jobs.
What if you could get hundreds, even thousands, of customers with little effort and no upfront costs? That’s the promise of online group buying sites such as Groupon, Play Hawaii, Living Social and Hot Deals Hawaii. …
Coming to a construction site near you: greener bulldozers, road graders and other diesel-powered equipment. Local heavy-equipment sellers say the first of the new-generation machines are arriving here this year as federal clean-air mandates phase in. “It’s all about being…
It's every entrepreneur's dream: free expert advice for your small business from some of the best specialists in the state on marketing, accounting, HR, cost-cutting and more. A surefire way to take your business to the next level, right? That’s…
